Quork Crystals
Quork Crystals (or "Quark Crystals") are a type of Terrain Special - specifically one of the Minerals. They appear on the overland map as a group of blue crystalline shapes. Quork Crystals are found only in Deserts. Quork Crystals are fairly common on the plane of Myrror, and occasional samples can also be found on Arcanus. If the Quork Crystals tile is within the catchment area of a Town, that town will produce an extra , added directly to the town's owner's Power level. This bonus is doubled if the town has a Miners' Guild present. Quork Crystals cannot be targeted by the Transmute spell, and thus cannot be changed into any other Mineral. They can however be removed from a tile by raising a Volcano in that tile. Corruption temporarily removes the bonus that Quork Crystals give to nearby towns. Description As new-age mysticism tries to convince us, crystals are a source of power - channeling metaphysical or possibly even magical energy around themselves. Supposedly, this energy could be used to affect a person's behavior, their well-being, or even their surroundings. In the world of Master of Magic, these are not just beliefs, but proven fact - and Quork Crystals are some of that proof. They exude so much magical energy that a single Quork Crystals tile gives off more than the entire complement of a Parthenon's priests. Quork Crystals are blue in color, and are easily spotted wherever they may be placed. They often attract settlers, hoping to process these crystals for their magical potential. Initial Placement and Terrain When a new game begins, Quork Crystals are placed in random locations throughout both Arcanus and Myrror. They are always placed on top of Desert tiles. It is possible to encounter such crystals on different tiles, but only due to the use of the Change Terrain or Gaia's Blessing spells. Quork Crystals are found in great quantities on Myrror, but can occasionally be found on Arcanus as well. Note that due to the random nature of Terrain Special placement, it is possible that Arcanus will have no samples of this mineral. It is also possible that Myrror will lack this mineral as well, but the chance is very small for that to happen. The only way to remove Quork Crystals from a tile is to raise a new Volcano underneath them. This permanently removes Quork Crystals from the tile - and they cannot be restored. Volcanoes can be created using either the Raise Volcano or Armageddon spells. Mineral Effects Quork Crystals are a Mineral, and thus provide a bonus to nearby towns. A town with Quork Crystals within its catchment area produces . Power Bonus For each Quork Crystals tile within a town's catchment area, that town will produce an extra . This Power is similar to that produced innately by the citizens of some races, by the wizard's Fortress, or gathered from Nodes. Like any other Power it can be invested freely into generation of , Research of new spells, or increasing the wizard's Spell Skill. This bonus is quite significant, equal to the amount of produced by a single Parthenon - and has no Upkeep Costs or other drawbacks associated with it. As a result, there is a high imperative to try and place new Settlements near such crystals when they are found. Shared Tiles It is possible to build two towns close enough together that their catchment areas overlap. Shared tiles are marked by a red "1/2" label, seen in each town's details screen. When a Quork Crystals mineral occupies a shared tile, it will give half of its benefit to each town. Therefore, each town's output is increased by only instead of . This usually gives the same end result as one town with - except when Miners' Guilds are involved (see below). Note that it is quite possible for this state to change during play, as new towns are established and existing towns are destroyed. The Quork Crystals tile's bonuses will be redistributed automatically in such events. Miners' Guild Bonus When a Miners' Guild is erected in a town that has access to Quork Crystals, the output of each Quork Crystals tile in its vicinity is doubled. Therefore, a single Quork Crystals tile will produce for such a town instead of just . If two towns share the same Quork Crystals tile between them, and only one town has a Miners' Guild, the total being produced by both these towns thanks to the Quork Crystals is . If both towns acquire a Miners' Guild, they will together produce as normal. Transmutation Quork Crystals cannot be targeted by the Transmute spell. Therefore, it is not possible to change Quork Crystals into another type of Mineral. Corruption The Corruption spell can be cast on a tile containing Quork Crystals. In such an event, both the Quork Crystals itself as well as the tile it's on will cease providing any bonuses to nearby towns. To combat this, send Shamans or Priests to Purify the affected tile immediately. If several tiles are Corrupted, Quork Crystals tiles usually have a high priority for Purification. Several spells, including Gaia's Blessing and Consecration, may also help if they are available. Category:Terrain Specials Category:Minerals